A large number of applications exist for remote control devices. Indeed, remote control devices have become everyday tools with a plethora of uses. For example, many if not most households now own interactive video entertainment devices which present games that can be controlled by a user by remote means. Also, many flight simulators use remote-control devices for simulating the controls of an aircraft, e.g., a helicopter.
One common remote control device is the well-known joystick. To control a video display or other device with a joystick, a user manipulates the joystick relative to a fixed component, ordinarily the housing to which the joystick is pivotally attached. As the joystick is moved, its orientation relative to the housing is sensed. Based upon the sensed orientation of the joystick, a signal can be generated to control, for example, the position of a cursor on a video display.
Not surprisingly, several devices have been introduced for sensing the orientation of a joystick and generating a control signal in response. As one example, Fredericksen U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,678 discloses a position transducer system in which a pair of slugs are attached to and moved by a joystick. Each slug is magnetically coupled to an inductor and each inductor is associated with an oscillator for generating a signal representative of the position of the slug and, hence, the joystick. Additionally, Kim U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,510 discloses an analog joystick controller in which a joystick is attached to a ball that is supported in a housing. The ball is connected through a relatively complicated mechanical linkage to potentiometers for generating a signal representative of the position of the joystick.
Unfortunately, the devices discussed above have either complicated constructions (e.g., the Kim device) or require comparatively expensive electronics (e.g., the Fredericksen device). Thus, a need exists to provide a joystick position sensor which can accurately sense the position of a joystick, and which has a relatively simple and inexpensive construction. The present invention recognizes that such a joystick position sensing system can be provided.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a joystick position sensing device which can relatively accurately sense the position of a joystick. It is another object of the present invention to provide a joystick position sensing device that has a comparatively simple construction. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a joystick position sensing device that is relatively cost-effective to manufacture and easy to use.